The Fallen Idol - 7/10 - In between Carol Reed's two masterpieces he made this odd little thriller. A crime drama from a child's perspective is a fantastic idea, and the early scenes of build-up and adult misunderstanding work marvelously. Unfortunately as there's no crime the drama evaporates in the last half hour.

The Fallen Idol - 7/10 - In between Carol Reed's two masterpieces he made this odd little thriller. A crime drama from a child's perspective is a fantastic idea, and the early scenes of build-up and adult misunderstanding work marvelously. Unfortunately as there's no crime the drama evaporates in the last half hour.

Also, as the child actor is insufferable, my interest evaporates in the first 10 minutes.

Logged

That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

Richard III (1955) 6/10. First viewing in DCP. Wow, like a Vistavision print restored to its original glory. As Marty says, "Vistavision was the IMAX of its day." Marty was on hand to introduce the film and provide us with nuggets of wisdom such as that. He also told us about his movegoing childhood (who knew?). But anyway--the great man, in the room with me! (He was much shorter than I'd imagined him). As Marty was arguing for the greatness of the film, though, I noticed he couldn't help talking mainly about Henry V. And the reason is obvious: Henry is a great film, and part of the reason it's so great is that it had a long gestation. Olivier gets all the credit for the film, but he actually arrived on the project late, after much of the concept had already been worked out. Now, when it came time to do Richard, 10 years later, Olivier had no more idea of what to do than he had earlier, so Richard is just a rehash of things better done in the first film. Except now in Vistavision. So color and clarity are exemplary; drama and pacing, not so much.

Afterwards I went home and watched the first hour of Stuart Burge's Othello (1965, starring Olivier)--a much better film. But then, it had a real director.

Logged

That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

The Fallen Idol - 7/10 - In between Carol Reed's two masterpieces he made this odd little thriller. A crime drama from a child's perspective is a fantastic idea, and the early scenes of build-up and adult misunderstanding work marvelously. Unfortunately as there's no crime the drama evaporates in the last half hour.

His security detail was pretty thick, so, no. Nothing compared to Denzel's, of course, but they did the job. At the beginning some woman interrupted Marty by pulling off her top and complaining about the city's social services (or something) but she was quickly subdued and taken away. Marty deadpanned: "Shakespeare would've loved it. I mean, really. Ya know, the groundlings?" Not sure what the great man meant, but, like, I was there! In the same room! Did I mention that he was shorter than I'd imagined?

Logged

That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.